"You guys receive blessings fom above!"

Ukrainian flags were displayed all over the city today in recognition of the Odessa's liberation from the Nazi's on April 10, 1945.

Yuri with his classmate and friend, Daniel.

Today turned out differently than we had planned. Instead of touring the ruins of an ancient castle fort, we ended up running an errand to court! OK, it's not that bad really. It was a good day. Our facilitator, Nataliya, called this morning to inform us we have an appointment at the Notary's office at 4 p.m. This came as a surprise to us as nothing official was scheduled until Friday. However, the powers that be thought it a good idea to get a head start on the documents required to change Yuri's name. Anything to help us complete all our work in one day on Friday sounded like a good idea to us!

We called Lela Steel this morning to schedule a going away party for Yuri's classmates. Lela suggested we meet at the Internot at 2 p.m. to talk to the officials about the party. We arrived at 2 p.m. sharp. Natalyia, Lela and Renee went inside to get permission and a date for the party. Yuri and Paul went to the basketball court to shoot hoops. Later, Yuri's friend, Daniel joined us. The party is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday. We departed the Internot and ran an errand to the Court building where Natalyia made a request for a document we need on Friday. We ended up at the Notary office a bit early and had time to run an errand at a market and have refreshments at a local cafe.

We are not sure what provoked the following comment from Nataliya (maybe it is best we don't know the details) but, as we drove to the court, Nataliya remarked emphatically, "You guys receive blessings from above! Doors open, miracles happen. It must be all your positive thinking!" We replied, "Actually, we are praying hard and a lot of people back home are praying for us also." So, to you back home we say, thank you and please keep it up!

Once at the Notary, everything was going smoothly until the power went down taking the computers with it of course. The woman who was processing our document had some kind of auxiliary power supply for her PC and was able to continue work on our behalf. We signed a document and at 4:30 p.m. we walked to the railway station to inquire about train and bus schedules for the castle fort. We might make this trip Thursday.

This evening, we had dinner at, "Pizza City" about a block north of Afina Mall. They have a light, fresh menu with much more than just pizza. On the way home, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up party supplies and treats. Tonight, we all enjoyed the renewed access to high-speed internet access. And... we did a few more loads of laundry!

Only three more days in Odessa!

Prayer Request - For tomorrow's party--that it go smoothly and without difficulty. That Yuri and all the kids enjoy themselves and are able to share some meaningful time together. And, for a successful day Friday, processing the final documents needed for our departure. Thanks!